The Starrs Above
by HazelEyes12
Summary: When Marlena Maloy left Liverpool, no one ever knew she left hiding a secret, a secret that would find its way back to Liverpool right into Ringo's life.
1. Promise Me

_The sky was a misty blue, and what little of the sun there was had yet to set. There was a slight cold breeze, despite it being summer, but what could you expect from the Liverpudian sky. To the people who lived there, days like these were perfect; you could only imagine how much more special sunny days were._

_They had been walking around the park aimlessly, enjoying the last days of summer. No words were exchanged; they enjoyed one another's presence in silence. They would miss these day, the days were only they existed, where they only mattered to each other. _

"_When do you leave?" he asked quietly. The question had been mulling over and over in his clustered mind until he could no longer take it and asked. _

"_Saturday mornin'." she whispered, dropping her gaze to the floor. _

_He couldn't bear the thought of her leaving him, but it was real, it was going to happen; and he had to accept it. He looked over at her and came to a halt, embracing her. _

"_Stay with me.", he desperately begged quietly into her hair._

"_Ritchie, you know I wouldn't have it any other way, but I have no say in this." She whispered back burying her face into his chest. He hugged her tighter then lifted her chin to look at him._

"_Promise, you'll wait for me." he commanded while wiping the tears from her eyes, "I promise I'll come get you."_

"_Forever, if I have to Ritchie, forever." she whispered as fresh tears ran down her face. Satisfied with her answer, he leaned down, and they shared one of their last kisses. _

PRESENT DAY

Ringo had just gotten home from a long tour and couldn't wait to get some rest; his luggage could wait until later. Lying down on his couch, he closed his eyes, relaxing for the first time in days. The Beatles were bigger than ever, they were touring, they were making hits; they were having a blast. Though, that also meant a lot of stress and hard work. Ringo couldn't complain though, he was living his dream; they all were.

As he was starting to fall asleep the phone rang piercing the previously undisturbed silence, startling Ringo. Once he realized what was going on he groaned and reach over, grabbing the phone.

"Ello'?" he answered groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Ritchie, it's your mum. Do you think you could over?" she asked anxiously.

Hearing the tone of her voice awoke him completely.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the nerves settling in.

"Don't worry; you'll see when you get here." She said.

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit." He answered confused.

He put the phone back on the stand. He didn't like the sound in his mums voice, he only hope it wasn't anything too bad. Having already sat up, he put his face into his hands sighing. He wondered when he was ever going to get to rest.


	2. That Face

_Hey guys, hope you liked the previous chapter! :D This is my first Beatle fanfic, so I hope it goes well. I apologize that the first chapter was so short, it just felt right to end it there, plus it looked like a lot more in my note book. BTW this is taking place in the year 1964; I forgot to put that in the first chapter. Well here's chapter two, enjoy!_

Ringo wasn't very keen on going to his mums' house at that moment; he would have preferred to have just stayed home and rested. His backed ached from the long car rides he had experienced, and his mind was fuzzy from the lack of sleep. Brian had them working hard now that they were gaining a lot of attention.

The drive to his mum's house was unusually long; he blamed it on his grogginess. He found himself hesitant on entering, but once he did he was met with any empty house.

"Mum!" he called out. She had just called him, where could she be, he thought.

"Outside, Ritchie!" she answered.

Ringo visibly relaxed. They usually went outside when family was there, so he figured they had family over; though that thought made him want to walk right out the front door and drive back home. If only he knew it was not family, in fact, it was a person he thought he would never see again. When they Maloy's left, he thought it was for good, but obviously he had been mistaken.

"Mrs. Maloy, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you 'round here?" he asked happily once he was outside, he was hoping that Leana would be with her.

"Richard, it's been so long. I came here to speak to you actually." She answered with half-hearted smile.

"Of course! What do you wish to speak about?" He asked, completely oblivious to what was about to hit him.

Mrs. Maloy had always loved Ringo; he was so polite to her and her daughter, she had always thought he was perfect for her little girl despite her husband's negative opinion.

"Well, there really isn't an easy way to tell you this, so I'll just go out and tell you. Leana….she had been sick for a while."

Right away he didn't like the sound of where this conversation was heading.

"She had been getting treatment, of course." She continued.

He didn't know it, but he was holding his breath, waiting to find out what happened next.

"The treatments started working," when he heard that, he felt hopeful, maybe it would end well, he thought to himself. But for some reason he had a feeling it wouldn't, "but then, they weren't doing anything for her, and she slowly started getting sicker, until she just couldn't any longer." By then end of this story Mrs. Maloy was crying, but controllably, her wound was still fresh, it had only been a couple months since her only child's death.

Ringo squeezed his eyes shut when she finished talking; he felt his mother's hand on his knee, comforting him. He hadn't heard of his Leana since she left, until now, only to find out she was dead.

With his eyes still shut, he forced himself to speak, "Why didn't any of you contact me when she got sick," he asked lowly, "I would have wanted to been there, to have helped her in any way that I could have." He finished desperately.

"She didn't want you knowing, she didn't want to stop you from what you were doing. She just didn't want to ruin anything for you."

Ringo sighed frustrated. He was angry, very angry; he couldn't believe how she could've been so selfless. It was a dumb thought, and he knew it, but he couldn't help it.

"Richard, I'm sorry, but we wished to follow her every command, and that's what we did." She answered sorrowfully.

"I understand." He lied quietly, he didn't understand; at all actually.

"But there's more." She started hesitantly, "The reason we left Liverpool, wasn't because of Johnny's job." She said referring to her husband.

"Then why did you go?" Ringo asked confused.

"Leana was pregnant," she confessed and looked up meeting his gaze, "with your child."

At that moment Ringo felt like the world came crashing down on him, everything seemed to stop for a second. He, a father? He couldn't believe it, well actually he could, but he was shocked to say the least. Everything was just happening so fast; Ringo didn't know how to feel never the less how to think.

"After she passed, Johnny and I contemplated the idea of you meeting the child. We figured it was time that you finally met her."

Ringo's head shot up. _Her_, he noted; he had a little girl. The thought made him want to smile, but with everything going down, he couldn't bring himself.

"Of course. I just wish it could've been sooner." He answered. 

"I know and I'm sorry we waited this long." She apologized sincerely.

"Where is she?" he asked warily, he wasn't exactly sure whether he was ready to meet her, but something inside him wanted to; his fatherly instincts were kicking in.

"She's here." His mother answered, speaking for the first time.

"She's here?" he looked over at his mum.

"She's playing in the garden. We didn't think it'd be good idea to have her here while I told you." Mrs. Maloy answered.

Ringo found himself standing. For some reason, he felt the need to ask for permission to see his own daughter; so he did.

"May I?" he asked timidly.

Mrs. Maloy smiled sadly, "Of course."

He subconsciously led himself to the garden, while he fussed over his appearance, though what did it really matter?

The sight he fell upon was something he never thought to come across. There she was, siting in middle of the garden playing with a stuffed animal. Ringo felt a tug at his heartstrings; he stood there watching her for a bit. Occasionally she would look up to the sky, as if waiting for something to happen; nothing ever did though. Finally he mustered up the courage to walk up to her, while doing so he managed to step on a twig. Upon hearing the noise behind her, the toddler spun quickly in her spot and the two pair of eyes met each other at once.

That face, he knew that face; it looked just like Leana's. The thought brought tears to his eyes, but he pushed them back, he couldn't cry, not now, not in front of his child. This was his daughter, _their_ daughter; all he wanted was to hug her. But he didn't, he didn't want to scare her. There was no use in denying that she was his, Leana would have never lied.

"_Well as long as it looks like you, I don't care what it is; I couldn't possibly live with myself if he or she looked like me." He said causing her to laugh._

_He smiled knowing he caused that. _

"_I think you're quite handsome" she answered cheekily, looking at him._

_He smiled and looked in her eyes, "You're just blinded by love." _

He smiled at the memory. He was glad he got his wish; she looked just like her mother. With the exception of her eyes; she had his eyes. He slowly walked over to her and bent down to her level. She was looking down, obviously nervous about the man in front of her. She knew who he was though; her mother had told her about him and shown her a couple of pictures too. But this was completely different, she was now in front of him, meeting him for the first time. _What if he didn't like her_, she wondered.

"You have very pretty eyes, Rosie." He tried getting her too look up.

Rosie was hopeful, surely if he liked her eyes, he would like her, right?

"Can we have a look at them?" he tried again, smiling in the process.

Unsurely she looked up into her father's eyes for the second time. Once again tears were brought to his eyes, but this time they fell; he couldn't stop them, nor did he want to.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, as she subconsciously grabbed his hand, which was always something her mother did when she cried.

Ringo chuckled at her naivety and closed his hand around hers, completely oblivious to the audience behind him, "Nothing."; he smiled, and looked up at her, "Absolutely nothing."


	3. Hope

_Finally, here's chapter three! I know there was a mistake in chapter two; I forgot to put in where they tell Ringo the name of his daughter. I started this just for the hec of it, but I hope it's good, and hope you guys like it. Anyways, enjoy! :D_

Ringo paced around his living room, waiting for his friends to arrive. How was he going to tell his mates he was a father of a three year old? He only hoped they took it well, but it didn't really matter what they thought, did it? What was done was done, and well, Ringo was happy. He was nervous, but was sure his friends would welcome her with open arms. Well he knew George would at least, he hoped the others would too.

Rosie sat in her room, getting acquainted with everything in there. Rosie had never had her own room; she had always shared one with her mother. Who was she going to share it with now, she wondered. She couldn't possibly sleep by herself in this big room; she would question her father about that later. Rosie hadn't really comprehended what was going on, all she knew was that she was now to stay with her father, and her grandparents would come and visit when they got the chance. It wouldn't be soon of course, they lived in the states.

When Rosie was first told she wouldn't be seeing her mother anymore, she was thoroughly confused. Her grandparents said that she had gone to a better place and that one day she would be reunited with her. She didn't understand why her mother would leave if she had Rosie, surely there was no better place than with her child. This was also something she would ask her father.

Rosie was glad she was with Ringo now, but couldn't help but miss her loved ones. Her father turned out to be just like her mother had explained him to be. He played with her, made her laugh, and even brushed her hair for her like her mother would. Ringo found himself adapting quickly to being a father. Of course there were things he still had to learn, but he would learn them as he went. He was nervous; the life of a child was in his hands, it would depend on him how she would turn out in life.

"Honey, I'm home!" John announced barging through the door, leaving Paul and George to follow.

"John, good mannered as always." Ringo greeted sarcastically. In reality he didn't care, he loved his friends to death.

"Of course." John winked, "Now what do we owe this gathering for?"

"Yeah, you said you had sumthin' important to talk about?" George said speaking up for the first time.

"This better be good. Jane's about to murder me, said sumthin' about leaving after only being here for two days." Paul complained sitting on the couch sloppily.

"Well, I'm sure you'll want to hear this." Ringo mumbled to himself, "Remember Leana?" he asked speaking loudly now.

"Of course we remember our friend. How could we forget?" John said.

"Well, her mum came about two days ago, with some good and bad news." Ringo had never been in the position where he had to deliver bad news; he didn't know how to go about things.

"She passed away couple months ago." He said looking down, "Said she had been sick for a while, things were startin' to look up but, she didn't make it."

An eerie silence hung in the room. Memories came flooding back to the three boys involving their deceased friend.

He had never been one to share his feelings with people, to open up to them. But after Leana had managed to steal his heart with a struggle, John had let her in and she had become the only person his injured heart managed to hold compassion for; it would probably remain that way.

George being the youngest was always picked on, especially in the Cavern days. Occasionally the jokes would get to him and would leave the poor fifteen year old resentful, but, that wouldn't last long. Leana was always there to comfort him, and inflate that heart of his. He remembered wishing her back when she had left, he had missed his friend.

Before having met John and Ringo, it had only been the three of them: Paul, George, and Leana. He remembered when his mother passed; no one could get to him. Paul had been devastated and couldn't manage to leave his bedroom, it was she who had to come and drag him out. She was the only one who could shake some sense into him; into all of them.

"How?" was all George managed to get out.

"Cancer."

Paul couldn't take it anymore and decided to divert the conversation; he didn't want to hear about the disease that had now taken two of his loved ones, "You said there was good news?"

John scoffed; he didn't think there could possibly be good news after what they had just heard.

"Well, it turns out they didn't leave because of her father' job." He said hesitating on how he was going to phrase his next words.

He had obviously taken too long for Johns liking, "On with it son." he said irritated.

Ringo gulped, "She was pregnant."

"What?" Paul asked incredulously.

"She was pregnant with my child, that's why she left."

"Where is the child now?" Paul asked; the others were too shocked to speak.

"_She _is here right now actually. She's staying with me, I'm going to take care of her." He said daring to look up at his friends for the first time.

Shock was written in all their faces; George was the first to break the silence.

"That's great mate. I'm happy for you. Whatever you need, we'll help you with." He grinned.

It was hard to believe George was the youngest of them all, he was the most level headed out of them.

"She look like her?" Paul smiled, trying to break the sullen mood.

"Just like her, thank god." Ringo said smiling for the first time since he began talking.

"Well, where is she then? Can't keep her to yourself, Starkey!" George joked.

"Hold your horses. I'll go get her; she's up in her room. Just be calm, don't freak her out." Ringo warned them.

On his way to his daughters' room he couldn't help but notice John hadn't said a word concerning Rosie. He had been the closet with Leana out of all of them, beside himself of course. She had been his sister basically; they hadn't needed a blood bond. Ringo hoped John would welcome his daughter warmly when he came back with her.

"Rosie." He called quietly, knocking softly on her open door.

She snapped her head to her father's voice. She had been sitting on the edge of her bed, looking around the room quietly.

"How do you feel like meeting a couple of your uncles?" he asked walking up to her bed and kneeling down in front of her.

It sometimes pained Ringo to look at his daughter, she looked just her mother. But, she was his daughter and loved her to no end, even if he had just met her. Over the last day he found himself looking at her endlessly, he found it amazing that such a beautiful child belonged to him?

"I have uncles?" she asked excitedly, looking up at her father.

"Well of course, silly girl!" he exclaimed as they started to walk out her bedroom.

"Hey, how about we decorate that room of yours? We could start tomorrow." Ringo proposed to his young daughter.

"Please! Can we paint it purple? It's my favorite color." It hadn't taken Rosie long to shed her shyness, she had warmed up to her father right away, and Ringo was glad for that.

"Of course, love!" he said picking her up hastily, causing her to squeal.

The men in the living room stood and turned to the sound of the young child, soon enough Ringo and Rosie walked out.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Rosie." Ringo introduced her, a smile never leaving his face.

Rosie turned to look at her uncles, when she realized how many there were she shied away.

"Hello, Rosie. I'm George. Can we have a look at that pretty face?" George said charmingly, trying to break her shyness.

She looked up and saw George smiling warmly at her, she had a feeling she would get along great with him. She smiled back warmly, wanting her uncles to like her.

"And I'm Paul, but you can call me Paulie." Paul said smiling.

"Hi George. Hi Paulie." She greeted softly.

They were stunned at how much she really did look like her mother, but didn't voice it out loud. They didn't want to risk upsetting anyone; especially Rosie.

They heard the door close and turned to look at it; John had walked out leaving the four to themselves.

_Sorry for the lack of updates! I'll try to update more often. What do you guys think so far? Any suggestions?_


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